It began like most of my days, at the sink. Sometimes I go right to my chair or cushion to meditate, but more often than not I decide to grab a morning cup of tea and a few sips before I settle in. My distractions begin right away.

At 5:30 am I don’t expect to hear much. But I do live in an interior unit townhome so occasionally sounds seep through. Beep..beep…beep.. gentle, but periodic enough it makes me check my refrigerator door to see if I left it open somehow. No…steeping tea.. beep… beep.. I head back upstairs to my cushion.

Over the next two days, I notice the same noise when I stand at my sink. It’s getting annoying. At first I suspected my neighbor hadn’t been home when his alarm originally went off. Now I’m guessing he’s out of town. Beep…Pause…pause…pause and right when I think it’s going to run out of juice I hear it again. It hasn’t gotten louder, but I seem to be more and more aware of it, getting agitated that it is still ongoing.

What if something happened to him? That could happen to me, living alone. I haven’t driven for a few days, working at home and getting rides where I need to go. Going through the garage to get the mail I notice the beeps again. His neighborhood paper has been there for two days now. What if something happened to him in the garage? Should I do something? I grab the mail and go back into my house.

Next day, out goes the trash. OMG. The beeping is louder. Is it coming from my garage? Is something going to explode? The noise doesn’t seem to be coming from the car itself, but a red light is blinking. I couldn’t tell. Moving the car out to the open parking area, I have some relief. The car did work. Pulling out the manual I look up the warning light which simply reminds me I have auto theft protection working. Oh good, only I can steal my car this way.

Back in the garage I go from the bag of boxes I haven’t unpacked, over to the fuse box, back to the radon system, into the basement, back out to the garage. I can’t seem to locate the beep. I stare at the garage door opener unit; could this be the source?

Grabbing a step ladder I inspect the motorized unit. Nothing obvious, so I go back inside in search of the owners manual. No information on beeping-no flashing lights. I circle the garage again and looking for the source I now know is in MY space.

Googling “Lift Master beeping noise” I finally find a You tube video that leads me to resolution--a battery that needs replacing in the garage opener. I call the number posted by the wall garage door pad for service.

HAHAHA. True confessions to the next three people I talk to. One of them was the technician who came to replace the battery.

The repairman not only replaced the battery, but cleaned the rails and springs and inspected the unit. Calling me in when he was done, I explained how my internal story had unfolded over the past three days.

“ First, I secretly was annoyed with the neighbor. Then I realized I could have left something on beeping. It could have happened during one of my out of town jaunts. Annoyed…accepting…annoyed…accepting. Worried… worried but not taking action. What drama. Then the investigation. There was no body. “

Yes,” he casually stated. I was guessing he was in his 50’s. “I’ve learned over the years when I’m upset or annoyed, or blame someone else, it’s usually me who is the culprit. I’ve learned to look at myself first. That’s the way it usually works out. ”

He drove a typical fleet truck. He was a clean-cut, well attired technician. He was a guru repair man.

“I” was the irresponsible one. “I” took days to take that responsibility. Even then, it took me two hours trying to get to the bottom of it. “I” finally got the right help. Home ownership again-it’s been awhile.

As usual, this is the “real” drama of my life working even in the most subtle of ways. Working with my physical space, the emotions that arise, figuring it out with my intellect, then letting my spirit have a good laugh- all of us, me, myself and I, working together.

Why the laughter? It’s kind of fun to recognize how human I am. The more I can laugh at me, recognizing how I create my experiences, what a constant source of amusement. I just need to pay attention.